Missing
by emilywalrus
Summary: Sam is missing. The stress has finally gotten to him, and he left town without telling anyone. Who will be the one to make him realize his mistake?


**One-shot about Sam going crazy :P please R&R!**

"I'm sure. I've looked everywhere. Well, Brianna's looked everywhere. And Taylor." Edilio said.

"Great. I knew this would happen eventually! He's going crazy." Astrid shouted.

"Maybe we should just stop looking and let him have some time, you know, to get over whatever he needs to get over." Quinn suggested.

"No! No! That's not a good idea! We have to find him, now! Now!" Astrid was furious.

Quinn held up his hands, surrendering. "Hey, calm down Astrid." Edilio, as usual, remained the calm, cool, and collected one. "We'll find Sam eventually." Edilio had realized that Sam was missing that afternoon. The sun was setting now, so it was getting dark. They had all looked everywhere for him, with no luck.

Suddenly, Brianna flashed in. "Hey guys. I seriously can't find him. What are we going to do?" concern filled her eyes.

"I don't know." Edilio admitted.

"We have to do something! What if he hurts himself? What if…what if he…kills himself?" Astrid looked horrified. She had been having a panic attack since she found out he was missing.

"Be serious. Sam isn't like, on something. He's got a brain, and as long as he has one, he will _not_ kill himself." Quinn snorted.

"He's been getting a little…wackier than usual. He talks to himself sometimes. And then he starts to breathe really hard and quick. I usually ask him if he's okay, but then he just says, 'Um, yeah?' like he doesn't know what I'm talking about." Edilio said.

"That's weird." Brianna replied.

"Whoa, that's kind of creepy." Quinn said.

Astrid continued to have her panic attack, sitting next to Edilio. They were in the middle of the plaza, illuminated by the dim light of a nearby streetlamp. "Where could he be?" she cried.

Sam stumbled along the shore. He had left earlier that day, to get some stuff out of his head. He had hid out in a cave by the ocean, and hadn't seen anybody but Quinn. He had been running along the shore calling out Sam's name. So they were looking for him. Well, let them look.

He knew that he was losing it. Talking to himself, barely getting any sleep, hallucinating every once in a while. He was stressed. So, so stressed. Kids were dying left and right, and it was usually Sam's fault. He couldn't take it anymore. So he had left.

_I'll go back sometime. _He would think. Town was the only place he could find food, and somebody would spot him if he went there. Now he was going to Clifftop, for no apparent reason.

Sam finally saw the tall hotel above the horizon. He kept moving, tripping over every crack and rock and stick. Finally, his drowsiness got to him. He tripped over a rock and landed on a sharp stick. The stick stuck his hand. He moaned in pain. Looking at it, he saw a bright red hole where the wood had pierced his skin.

Blood dripped down his arm and covered his hand. The hole was about as big as a dime. The pain stung him, but helped him focus. He got back up, blood dripping onto the ground, and trudged onto Clifftop. Lana was there! The thought had just struck him. He had forgotten all about Lana. But he wasn't sure he wanted it healed. It made him feel awake and alive.

Lana was sitting outside Clifftop with Patrick, smoking. She had been sitting there pretty much all day, glad for the fresh air. It was late in the evening now, and she had just finished throwing a stick for Patrick. She was about to go inside, when she saw a figure coming towards the hotel.

Great, she thought, someone who needed to be healed. She sighed and decided to be nice today. She would meet the person halfway. "C'mon Patrick." She said to her golden retriever.

As she walked closer, she heard the person moaning. No whip arm, so that was good. "Lana? Lana its m-me. S-s-am." Sam? What was he doing here?

"Sam? Are you alright? Come inside." She offered. He followed her without protest. She noticed without anything that he had a bloody wound of some kind on his hand.

Once they reached the automatic sliding doors, she guided the drowsy Sam to the elevator, which they rode up to the fourth level where Lana's room was. She pushed open the door and Patrick ran in. Lana and Sam followed.

"Sam, what happened? What's wrong?" she asked him once he had sat down. She guessed he was just overly stressed. People like Edilio had tried to keep him sane, but he had gone crazy anyways.

"I don't know Lana. So many kids dying and so many people counting on me. But I don't know any of the answers! I don't know Lana!" his eyes were filled with sadness and fixed on Lana. "And I fell on a stick!" he shouted, pointing to the bloody hole on his hand.

"I'll fix it." Lana muttered, kneeling by him and pressed her hands to his bloody one. He stared blankly down at her, no expression showing on his face now.

"So I ran away." Sam said all of the sudden.

That caught Lana's attention. She had finished healing his hand, so now she stood up. "You ran away? Sam, that's not going to solve any problems."

"You ran here to Clifftop when you had problems!" he shouted back.

"That was different!" Lana retorted. "They're looking for you right now probably. You know that right?"

"Yeah, I do. I was going to go back eventually." Sam muttered, looking down at his feet.

"Well you're going back now. So bye. Shoo, peace out. Get outta here." Lana said, abruptly standing up and swatting Sam off the chair.

Sam groaned. Then, he had a mood swing. "You're right. I can't just ditch everybody. I'll go back. Thanks Lana."

Lana snorted. "You would have figured it out. I'll walk back with you to town." She offered.

"You sure?" Sam asked.

"I have nothing better to do." She replied.

And with that, they both left the hotel. Sam just hoped Astrid and the others would welcome him back.


End file.
